DNA alternative created by scientists

Artificial genetic material – XNAs – expected to reveal how molecules first replicated and drive biotechnology research

Scientists have created artificial genetic material that can store information and evolve over generations in a similar way to DNA – a feat expected to drive research in medicine and biotechnology, and shed light on how molecules first replicated and assembled into life billions of years ago.

In the journal Science the researchers describe how they caused one of the XNAs to stick to a protein, an ability that might mean the polymers could be deployed as drugs working like antibodies.

In an accompanying article, Gerald Joyce, of the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California, says the study heralds an "era of syntheticgenetics, with implications for exobiology [which deals with extraterrestrial life], biotechnology and understanding life itself". He adds: "Construction of genetic systems based on alternative chemical platforms may ultimately lead to the synthesis of novel forms of life."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2012/apr/19/dna-alternative-xnas-science-genetics